Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)
Uses
Applications
Technical Specifications
Alternatives
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) is a technique which analyzes the composition of solid surfaces and thin films by sputtering the surface of the sample with a focused primary ion beam; collecting and analyzing ejected secondary ions. The secondary ions are measured with a mass spectrometer to determine the elemental, isotopic, or molecular composition of the surface of the sample or object. SIMS is able to detect elements present in the parts per billion range making it the most sensitive surface analysis technique.
- High sensitivity (<ppm) quantitative depth profiling
- High resolution depth profiling
- Dopant profiling of semiconductor materials
- High sensitivity bulk contamination analysis (1-10 um deep)
- Light element (H, C, N, O) analysis at interfaces
- Composition or stoichiometry of thin films
- Sub-nm depth resolution of ultra-shallow implants and thin films
- Ultra high depth resolution (<1um /decade)
- To obtain composition of small structures or features: AES, SEM-EDS, STEM-EELS
- For quantitative compositional analysis of surfaces or thin films: AES, XPS